In the words of Fannie Farmer “it is the duty of every housekeeper to learn the art of soup making.
“How may a hearty dinner be better begun than with a thin soup? The hot liquid, taken into an empty stomach, is easily assimilated, acts as a stimulant rather than as a nutrient (as is the popular opinion) and prepares the way for the meal which is to follow.
“The cream soups and purees are so nutritious that, with bread and butter, they furnish a satisfactory meal,” Farmer taught in her 1896 cook book.
This week’s recipes are for some of Fannie’s soups.
• • •
Brown Soup Stock
6 lb. shin of beef
3 quarts cold water
1/2 tsp. peppercorns
6 cloves
1/2 bay leaf
3 sprigs thyme
1 sprig majoram
2 sprigs parsley
1/2 cup turnip, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1 tbsp. salt
Wipe beef and cut the lean meat in inch cubes. Brown 1/3 of the meat in a hot frying pan in marrow from a marrow bone.
Put remaining 2/3 with bone and fat in soup kettle, add water and let stand for thirty minutes. Place on back of range, add browned meat and heat gradually to boiling point.
As scum rises it should be removed. Cover and cook slowly for six hours, keeping below boiling point. Add vegetables and seasonings, cook 1 1/2 hours, strain and cool if not using immediately as soup.
• • •
Tomato Soup
1 quart brown soup stock
1 can tomatoes
1/2 tsp. peppercorns
1 small bay leaf
3 cloves
3 sprigs thyme
4 tbsps. butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup each of diced onion, carrot, celery and ham
salt and pepper
Cook onion, carrot, celery and ham in butter five minutes. Add flour, peppercorns, bay leaf, cloves and thyme and cook three minutes. Add tomatoes, cover and cook slowly one hour.
Rub through a strainer, add hot stock and season with salt and pepper.
• • •
Lobster Bisque
2 lb. lobster
2 cups cold water
4 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsps. salt
few grains cayenne pepper
Remove meat from lobster shell. Add cold water to body bones and tough ends of claws. Cut in pieces. Bring slowly to boiling point and cook 20 minutes. Drain, reserve liquid and thicken with butter and flour cooked together.
Scald milk with tail meat of lobster, finely chopped. Strain and add to liquid. Season with salt and cayenne. Add tender claw meat, diced, and body meat. Add flour and stir into strained soup.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
